Trade Cases
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/media/k2/items/src/0ef58cba3be200e09020dbde2deedaab.jpg)
US to Temporarily Lift Section 232 Tariffs from Ukrainian Steel
Written by Michael Cowden
May 9, 2022
The US will for one year lift Section 232 tariffs from Ukrainian steel, the Commerce Department said.
The move is necessary to support Ukraine in its war against Russia and because steel plays an outsized role in the Ukrainian economy, Commerce said in a press release on Monday, May 9.
Case in point: Steel employs one in 13 Ukrainians, the department said.
“We can’t just admire the fortitude and spirit of the Ukrainian people – we need to have their backs and support one of the most important industries to Ukraine’s economic well-being,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
“For steel mills to continue as an economic lifeline for the people of Ukraine, they must be able to export their steel,” she added.
The move was not unexpected. US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle asked last month that the Biden administration ease Section 232 tariffs on Ukrainian steel.
Also, industry participants and trade policy experts had said that a temporary easing of Section 232 was in the works. And some have said the tariff suspension could be extended should the war with Russia drag on.
Most said that the impact on the North American steel market would be modest. Some SMU sources noted, for example, that they had previously imported steel plate from Azovstal in Mariupol, Ukraine. The city has been razed by Russian forces, and Azovstal, now a makeshift fortress, has become symbolic of Ukrainian resistance. But the mill has been all but destroyed in the fighting, and no plate is being exported from there or will be anytime soon.
Other steel products, given the difficulties of shipping via the Black Sea, will likely be exported to the European Union via train or truck. One exception might be energy tubulars such as oil country tubular goods (OCTG). Much of Ukraine’s production has been exported to the Middle East. But that situation on the Black Sea makes that logistically difficult, sources said. A portion of that OCTG production might be re-directed from customers in the Middle East to those in North America. It could be taken overland to Gdansk, a port city in Poland, and then exported to the US, they said.
Ukraine exported 130,636 metric tons of steel products to the US in 2021, according to Commerce Department figures. The bulk of those exports – 113,101.9 metric tons, or 86.6% – were pipe and tube. Only 9,705.7 metric tons, or 7.4%, were flat-rolled products, almost all of it cut-to-length plate or coiled plate.
Recall that Section 232 tariffs, 25% in the case of steel, were initially rolled out by the Trump administration in 2018. They have been kept largely in place by the Biden adminstration, although tariff-rate quota (TRQ) agreements to ease them have since been negotiated with the European Union, Japan and the United Kingdom.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/SMU_MC_headshot-150x150.png)
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Trade Cases
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/galvanized_coil.png)
Leibowitz: The consequences of a new barrage of trade cases on coated steel
Domestic steel producers and the United Steelworkers (USW) union filed a barrage of trade cases last week. This is hardly news. Ever since the Commerce Department ruled that Vietnam is still treated as a nonmarket economy (NME) for antidumping purposes, many in the business expected new cases on the product that Vietnam excels at—“corrosion-resistant steel.” Nor is it a surprise that these cases roped in nine countries in addition to Vietnam: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. All these countries rank in the top ten exporters of corrosion-resistant steel to the United States. These petitions are a broadside against coated flat-rolled steel imports.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/investigate.png)
Coated trade case alleges hefty dumping margins
Domestic mills have alleged substantial dumping margins in the trade case targeting imports of corrosion-resistant steel.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/fist.png)
US mills file sprawling trade case against coated imports from 10 nations
US mills have filed or soon will file a sprawling trade petition against imports of coated flat-rolled steel from 10 countries. The petition seeks anti-dumping margins against Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, and South Africa. It also seeks countervailing duty margins against Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Vietnam. That’s according documents dated Sept. 5 and addressed to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and International Trade Commission (ITC) Secretary Lisa Barton.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/media/k2/items/src/cbd2ad03f626e665deb71b2742b25bbb.jpg)
Steel Summit 2024: Trade issues abound ahead of election
Trade is always front and center in an election year. And 2024 is no different. There is no shortage of issues, with questions like the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel, potential cracks in the USMCA, and Chinese overcapacity dominating the headlines. But how do you distinguish between issues that might just last until November, and what are the crucial questions that could affect your business for years to come?
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/fist.png)
US senators urge reduction to S. Korean OCTG quota
https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/sherrod-brown-casey-fetterman-biden-administration-level-playing-field-american-octg-industry